A unique vessel undertaking a "flagship journey" of ocean protection in the fight against plastic pollution is being supported by Lubmarine’s latest fully digitalized global onboard marine lubricant sampling and testing service - LubInsight neo.
Following an 18-month refit, Plastic Odyssey set sail from Marseille to Beirut on the first leg of a 3-year world voyage across 3 continents to not only showcase open-source (low tech) plastic recycling processes, but to work as a real-life R&D floating field station for researchers, engineers, and scientists, in addition to carrying out a technical-socio-economic inventory of ocean pollution.
Built in 1974, Plastic Odyssey provides over 200m² of technical space and a loading capacity of around 20 tonnes of equipment. It also hosts several new technologies, destined to be tested in the most remote areas and has a fleet of machine tools for processing new pieces and developing prototypes.
The success of Plastic Odyssey’s mission is reliant upon it reaching over 30 cities around the world, so managing and ensuring the smooth running and reliability of its engines throughout its journey is crucial.
As a world leader in marine engine lubricants and technical support, Lubmarine is playing a central role in Plastic Odyssey’s journey across 3 continents, combining not only our high-performance products but the very latest in our ground-breaking fully interconnected, global digital monitoring services in the shape of LubInsight neo.
The ground-breaking system was fitted onboard following discussions with Plastic Odyssey’s Captain and Chief Engineer, providing both the crew and global support teams ashore with a fully digitalized lubricant sampling, testing and monitoring system.
Designed to improve the way vessel operators can protect and optimize their equipment by offering a fully interconnected and digitalized user experience without the need for specialist crew training - LubInsight neo saves time and money whilst mitigating human error.
Operators on board Plastic Odyssey are guided through easy-to-follow step-by-step, on-screen instructions, starting with scanning the sampling point, pairing with the sample bottle, performing the test, and retrieving the results in the MyLubmarine portal.
Whilst the system is helping the Plastic Odyssey team more effectively manage its 4-stroke engines, LubInsight neo has also been designed for 2-stroke engines to perform drain oil analysis, displaying results in charts aligned with OEMs recommended values, making sure engines stay in the safety zone, helping secure and optimize its lubricant consumption.
Oliver Suming, Lubmarine Services Manager says the installation of LubInsight Neo was very fast and easy. The new service delivers the crew and support teams globally with access to critical engine monitoring and lubricant performance management data, whenever they need it, no matter where the Plastic Odyssey is in the world.
“LubInsight neo was successfully installed shortly before Plastic Odyssey departed from Marseille. The first set of tests were performed easily and were vitally important to assess both engine and lubricant condition at its departure point.
“All analysis results are automatically uploaded on MyLubmarine Portal so that in addition to the Plastic Odyssey teams, Lubmarine’s support staff can also easily access the data and suggest action planning whenever necessary.
“It is a fantastic journey that they are on and we wish all the Plastic Odyssey team every success in their worldwide mission and we are closely following their adventure,” added Olivier.
As a business which has a leading role to play in the global supply of lubricants for the shipping and maritime industries, we are delighted to be in a position to provide Plastic Odyssey with both our products and cutting-edge technical services. We see this initiative as a positive step toward zero plastic and fully endorse the approach being made on how to recycle plastics in developing countries.
